Sheremetyevo Airport Expands COVID-19 Testing

MOSCOW, Oct. 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Sheremetyevo Airport and ArchiMed laboratory have expanded opportunities for passengers and visitors to be tested for COVID-19 in response to increased demand for the testing services. Express diagnostics for COVID-19 are now available at the health centers of terminals B, D and E, with an additional testing facility in terminal E.

Testing is carried out by the ArchiMed laboratory using testing kits manufactured by EMG (Evotech-Mirai Genomics). Persons wishing to undergo testing at the airport will need to register and pay for the service in advance online at www.life-air.org, after which they can go to one of the health centers for testing.

The cost of testing for COVID-19 at Sheremetyevo Airport with the option of obtaining results is 2,750 rubles for persons who want to receive results in one hour, or 1,800 rubles for persons willing to wait 24 hours for results. Results may be delayed slightly depending on the workload at the time of testing.

Information posters describing the testing service and giving information on online registration are posted in the areas where testing is performed, and floors in the terminals are clearly marked to help the public for maintain social distance. Signs will point people to in the direction of the check-in counter.

From September 21 to September 27, 13,184 express tests for coronavirus were performed at Sheremetyevo Airport, which is 23% more than during the previous week. Currently, the average daily number of tested passengers and guests is about 1,900 people.

In addition, the federal Center for Hygiene and Epidemiology in the Moscow Region provides testing for COVID-19 at Sheremetyevo in Terminal D. The cost of the service is 1,990 rubles, and results are provided in 24 hours. The laboratory is open from 17.00 to 05.00.

The growth in demand for this service is due to the introduction of new rules for citizens arriving in the Russian Federation from abroad by air, in accordance with the decree of the Chief State Sanitary Doctor of the Russian Federation. According to the decree, Russian citizens must undergo a laboratory test for COVID-19 within three calendar days of the date of arrival in the Russian Federation, using the PCR method.

The EMG diagnostic system, created with the support of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), is one of the fastest and most accurate tests in the world, adapted for both stationary and unparalleled mobile mini-laboratories (the portable system fits in two small suitcases).

Visitors with no ARVI symptoms are tested using the PCR testing. The test is performed by taking a biomaterial sample - a swab from the nose or oropharynx. Persons undergoing testing are advised to refrain from drinking, eating or smoking within 1 hour before the test. Test results are sent to the e-mail address on the registration form. Customers also have the option of getting a hard copy of the health certificate with the test result. The test results are issued in Russian and English. In addition, information on the test results is available in the client's personal account on the ArchiMed laboratory website.

SOURCE Sheremetyevo International Airport